IMMC13: Medicinal Mushroom Sector Weighs Regulation, Quality and Hype

The International Medicinal Mushrooms Conference 13 convened from September 22-25 in the charming historic castle town of Bragança, Portugal in the biodiverse Trás-os-Montes region. 

An international delegation of some of the world’s top mushroom researchers and industry representatives convened to share the latest findings in the field, collectively engage with challenges and opportunities facing the industry, and envision a collaborative and prosperous future for the sector at large. 

“The deeper we look, the less we know. I've been doing this a long time and I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface yet,” said mushroom industry veteran John Holliday during the closing Scientific and Industrial Perspectives on Medicinal Mushroom Research and Innovation roundtable discussion. 

This sense of humility and curiosity extended to much of the conference programming, where internationally renowned figures in the mushroom space often conceded that mushroom research and the commercial endpoints it drives are still very much in their infancy.

The congress blended four days of rigorous scientific and industry-oriented programming through a mix of plenary sessions, keynote lectures, roundtable discussions and poster presentations with an impressive evening cultural immersion itinerary that connected guests with the spectacular history and traditions of the host town of Bragança.

The opening ceremony on September 22nd was held in the Teatro Municipal and included remarks from IMMC13 head organizer Lillian Barros and included plenary lectures from renowned mycologist Paul Stamets and other researchers before the elegant and moving Trio Majestoso piano, flute, and voice ensemble filled the auditorium with musical spirit. 

Stamets leveraged his opportunity on stage to challenge the controversial classification of mycelium products in Europe under the restrictive European Novel Food Regulation framework, with particular regards to Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail) and Agarikon.

“A pandemic is coming, and you in Europe will not have access to Agarikon and Turkey Tail. Why? Because a small group of your regulators decided that it’s a novel food,” Stamets said with an impassioned delivery and masterful rhetorical timing that came off at times like a sermon. 

“Mushrooms are made of mycelium. Mycelium makes mushrooms”, Stamets continued.

“Think of this. Think of your regulators denying the ability of increasing immunity of the population because of a regulatory misunderstanding of the basic biology of mushrooms.”

This charged debate regarding the correct identification, labeling, efficacy, and regulation of different parts of the fungal organism and the process by which they are cultivated has been a major point of controversy across the $33 billion + global functional mushroom industry in recent years. I should know, as I’ve been caught in the middle of it for some time now; see this Los Angeles Times article from June of 2025 pitting the divergent perspectives of Stamets and fellow mushroom industry titan Jeff Chilton of Nammex regarding accurate fungi parts labeling in mushroom supplement products that I’m interviewed in for a more detailed dive into the complex scenario. The article was inspired by my work covering the mushroom space and this issue of mycelium on grain vs. fruiting body specifically, and the parties aligning on either side of the ideological divide have reached no resolution yet. 

There was a marked sense within the broader community of attendees that infighting as such in the medicinal mushroom industry causes the sector at large to lose market share to the pharmaceutical industry. The disagreement remains alive and well at IMMC13 in Portugal this week, but fortunately the scope of the programming here goes so far beyond it.

Programming tracks for the scientific content of the conference included Personalized Nutrition and Precision Medicine, Agro-Food Systems and Circular Integration, AI and Omics in Medicinal Research, Ethics, Safety, and Regulatory Oversight, and Therapeutic Potential of Psychedelic Mushrooms.

Researchers and entrepreneurs contributing to the programming hailed from all corners of the planet, with contingents of mycologists from places like Nigeria, India, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, and all across the United States and European Union represented. This global consortium effectively functioned as a ‘United Nations of Mushrooms’ assembly for the week, with cross-pollination and intercultural dialogue emerging organically out of the varied interests represented. 

Some of the key points addressed at this conference include the conversation around mushrooms as being ‘multi-target’, medicinally speaking, rather than the traditional pharmacological framing of ‘one drug, one target’ ; this latter approach can sometimes be referred to as the “magic bullet” approach, which assumes that a disease or imbalance in the body can be addressed by finding a single molecular target such as a protein or receptor and modulating it with a single drug. 

The current narrative being pushed by biopharmaceutical companies like Compass Pathways revolves around this one drug, one target approach, with their particular approach being the development of a proprietary crystalline polymorph psilocybin formulation targeting the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor as a remedy for Treatment Resistant Depression. 

There was also caution against the hype cycles that can be tied to the rising popularity of a particular functional ingredient, where brands oversaturate the market with low quality or flat out bogus products in response to consumer demand, which then may ultimately phase out of consumer interest after the hype cycle. 

Lion’s Mane mushrooms in particular were named as one of the trending mushroom ingredients that has exploded over the last decade, with one business representative estimating that 9 out of 10 inquiries they receive about their mushroom products are now tied to Lion's Mane.

That surge in demand has exposed real quality gaps. Chris Field, Scientific Director at Applied Food Sciences (AFS), cautioned that a species name on a label alone does not verify a product’s composition, its active compounds, or its efficacy. AFS has taken a step toward closing that gap by publishing a UHPLC-UV analytical method that measures key Lion’s Mane markers, including hericenones, hericenes, erinacine A, and ergosterol.

When asked about the next ‘big thing’ in mushrooms, industry roundtable panelist John Holliday didn’t hesitate to identify Psilocybin mushrooms as the heir apparent to most in demand mushroom on behalf of consumers, with broader regulatory clarity regarding the rollout of a legal market for the widely legally prohibited mushroom still to be decided. 

I had an opportunity to deliver a keynote lecture on Thursday morning of the conference, with an emphasis on the Biocultural Heritage and Cultural Conservation of Mushrooms. My address centered the importance of recognizing and collaborating with mushroom entrepreneurs in the global south to help incentivize environmental stewardship and cultural preservation by creating pathways to monetization for people who maintain ancestral knowledge of fungi as well as connections to the biodiverse habitats in which they exist in response to the ongoing erasure of cultural identities and destruction of native habitats by megadevelopment projects, urbanization, acculturation, and other factors. 

The conference also witnessed the launch of the Journal of Edible and Medicinal Fungi, a new academic publication under the editorial purview of Dr. Ayman Turk. 

“We have companies that are just making outrageous claims, wanting to be drugs... We have to let go of that... our responsibility is to give accurate information, and the researchers and scientists have a duty to provide good information for the commercial guys to be able to put it out there to the consumer,” said KÄÄPÄ Biotech CEO and IMMC Executive Committee Member Eric Puro.

Puro argued that well-characterized mushroom ingredients, combined with scientific expertise and market understanding, can support more useful and impactful research to guide the future development of the functional mushroom category.

Puro also addressed the rising prominence of Artificial Intelligence in both research and the consumer industry, commenting upon the collective role of those present in helping to shape and guide AI interfacing with the medicinal mushrooms industry. Puro noted that AI agents dispatched by people searching for mushroom products can account for up to 30% of a mushroom company's web traffic, demonstrating the importance of providing AI with accurate and quality information about the medicinal mushroom industry. 

The highlights of the week for many participants surveyed went beyond the conference walls, however, with regards to the utterly impressive social and cultural events hosted in the evenings at various venues across Bragança.

The welcome party was hosted inside of the historic Castelo de Bragança, an immaculately preserved 13th Century hilltop castle overlooking the conference venue and surrounding countryside below. Guests were treated to a gastronomic bonanza of regional dishes such as Queijo de Cabra Transmontano and other cheeses, stuffed mushrooms, cured meats, and a dazzling selection of Trás-os-Montes wines against a backdrop of live traditional Fado music and dancing jesters wearing colorful traditional regalia present among the crowd. 

Other evening cultural events included a visit to the Museu Do Abado de Baçal, a history and art center commemorating the Pre-Roman Zolae culture of the region as well as medieval artifacts and paintings representing the history of the town, a masterclass educational seminar and tasting of regional wines, and a visit to the traditional village of Rio de Onor which sits on both sides of the Portugal - Spain border. 

As the 13th International Medicinal Mushrooms Conference concluded, the resounding feeling among all present is that the medicinal mushrooms industry has an extremely bright and prosperous future, and strengthening collaboration across research and industry to the benefit of both fields will help to guide the sector into maturity to the benefit of all. The conference went beyond traditional academia or industry to achieve a collaborative synergy of both worlds in service of a more scientifically-grounded, honest, and accurate framework so as to not let this profound discipline succumb to a hype cycle and ultimately become less in vogue with consumers everywhere. The future of the conference remains to be seen, but IMMC13 did a remarkable job of uplifting the heritage, history, and present day opportunities yielded by medicinal mushroom research and industry globally to ensure that the future of this industry is in good hands.